Hangers may be used to facilitate hanging or supporting of various garments, such as coats, jackets, sweaters, shirts, blouses, dresses, trousers, skirts, kilts, and/or other clothing items. Hangers may sometimes be referred to as “garment hangers,” “clothes hangers,” or “coat hangers.” Hangers may include a hook attached to at least one arm section. The hook may be used to hang or suspend the hangers from a pole, a rod, and/or other structure. The arm section(s) may be in the shape of human shoulders designed to facilitate hanging of the clothing item, and/or may be any suitable shape(s).
In some examples, the hangers may include first and second arm sections attached to the hook and extending outwardly from the hook, and a third arm section (or lower bar) connecting the first and second arm sections. The third arm section may be used for hanging additional clothing items, such as trousers or skirts. The lower bar may include one or more clips for suspending clothing items, such as shorts or skirts. The hangers may be any suitable curvilinear and/or rectilinear shape(s). For example, the hangers may be triangular in shape, such as having first, second, and/or third arm sections. Alternatively, the hangers may include a hook and first and/or second arm sections (such as coaxial first and second arm sections), which may include one or more clips. The hangers may be made of any suitable materials, such as wire, wood, and/or polymer materials.
Although the hangers may store a multitude of clothing items, those hangers must be stored when not in use to facilitate their reuse. For example, in the textile rental industry, hangers may be used to deliver garments to customers. After garments are removed from the hanger by the user, the hanger may be discarded or placed on a hanger collection rack. Those hangers may then be picked up by the garment delivery person on their next visit. However, those hangers may be loosely stacked and tangled such that one or more of the hangers are no longer usable. Personnel may sort, straighten, and/or organize the returned hangers in a garment processing plant. Alternatively, a garment hanger collection apparatus that is configured to organize the hangers and prevent tangling may be used. That apparatus may additionally, or alternatively, bind those hangers.
Examples of garment hanger collection apparatus are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,828,144; 7,377,396; 6,520,349; 6,230,904; 6,109,457; 5,924,578; 5,833,184; 5,188,241; 4,768,658; 4,424,905; 4,016,981; 3,692,188; 3,661,268; 3,490,599; 3,357,544; 3,115,968; 2,918,174; 2,609,919; 2,530,609; 2,122,324; D556,450; D465,352; D417,802; and D335,402. The complete disclosures of the above patents are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.